Could be either one. Osteopathic surgeons are simply surgeons who went to an Osteopathic medical school rather than a traditional one. They practice Osteopathic medicine, which is a more holistic approach to healthcare. Any branch of medical practice, including Orthopedic surgery, may have Osteopathic doctors or surgeons. Using shoes to help back pain would definitely fall in line with Osteopathic approaches.

I'm not trying to put words in Munky's mouth though.

Ah, yes. I didn't mean to offend any of the osteopaths or osteopathic surgeons on this thread. I just figured he meant orthopedic surgeon because they typically with bones and ligament stress. Of course, I forgot that an osteopath could have done a residency in orthopedic surgery, in which case they would be an osteopathic orthopedic surgeon. I've said too much...

Ah, yes. I didn't mean to offend any of the osteopaths or osteopathic surgeons on this thread. I just figured he meant orthopedic surgeon because they typically with bones and ligament stress. Of course, I forgot that an osteopath could have done a residency in orthopedic surgery, in which case they would be an osteopathic orthopedic surgeon. I've said too much...

If you have offended any Osteopathic Orthopedic Surgeons in this thread, you'd better start playing the lottery! The chances of that are quite remote I'd imagine.

Yes, I agree that - trainers apart- it is likely that good shoes are likely to fit better than cheap ones. What I would do, though, is leave the door open on the issue. A certain type of cheap shoe might fit very well. Overall, though, the generalisation holds.

I would say that a higher-end shoe that fits very well to begin with, would tend to fit very well much longer than a cheap shoe that fits very well to begin with (in regard to leather shoes).

...
Liability according to Wikipedia: "liability can mean something that is a hindrance or puts an individual or group at a disadvantage, or something that someone is responsible for, or something that increases the chance of something occurring (i.e. it is a cause).
...

Sorry, I meant orthopaedic surgeon - a doctor who is a consultant in orthopaedics. Or orthopedic, if you live on the wrong side of the pond. You don't need to be bothered by my professional life but I have spent many an hour arguing against osteopathy. I hope that on each occasion, I was wearing good shoes.

Since there have been a few questions recently about what care to apply to new shoes, I thought I would address the issue again.

For search ability I will also include the words pre-maintenance and new shoe care.

First I will touch on calfskin shoes made of quality leather: due to the fat liquoring process and the finish on the shoe there is no real need to apply anything when new, just wear the shoes. If you want to add some additional shine then feel free to add some polish (paste or cream), but just a little. A good quality calfskin will also have sufficient oils, so as to not need conditioning when new, unless the shoes have been stored in a warehouse for an extended period of time (6 months +) in inclement conditions (hot, dry, etc…). With no external factors (ideal conditions), there is enough oils introduced during the fat liquoring process to keep the leather conditioned for at least a few years.

Adding a thin coat of conditioner will not hurt anything, and since you don’t usually know in what conditions the shoes have been stored, or for how long, it’s not a bad idea. Use conditioner before polish (usually a day apart to allow the conditioner to soak in). Also note that too much conditioner and/or too much polish are probably worse for your shoes than nothing at all.

Do not apply spray-on water proofing to calfskin shoes. All spray-on water proofing that I am aware of contains silicone. Once silicone is in leather is in difficult to get out. And, while silicone creates a good water barrier, it works both ways. The silicone will not allow the perspiration in the leather to pass through and evaporate, thus not allowing your shoes to “breath”. Oil and/or wax are the best water protectors you can add to leather.

Suede, of course, is another matter. Since you can’t really add oil or wax to suede, the only way to add some level of protection to the suede is to apply spray-on water proofing.

When it comes to lower quality shoes (sub $200) there is a good chance the leather quality is not as good, and is often corrected grain (in the fixing flaws sense) which may include a cheaper shiny finish that does not work well with the oils and solvent in shoe polish. You have seen this if you have looked at a $100 shiny leather shoe in shoe section of a department store.

Exotic skins like crocodile, alligator, lizard, and so on are not like calfskin and should be treated as such. There are reptile cleaners and conditioners for this purpose.

Shell cordovan is not calfskin either, but it is closer in composition to calfskin than exotic skins. Shell cordovan needs very little to no additional oils over the life of the shoe. Polish should also be used to a minimum to keep the natural luster of the shell cordovan.

Since there have been a few questions recently about what care to apply to new shoes, I thought I would address the issue again.

For search ability I will also include the words pre-maintenance and new shoe care.

First I will touch on calfskin shoes made of quality leather: due to the fat liquoring process and the finish on the shoe there is no real need to apply anything when new, just wear the shoes. If you want to add some additional shine then feel free to add some polish (paste or cream), but just a little. A good quality calfskin will also have sufficient oils, so as to not need conditioning when new, unless the shoes have been stored in a warehouse for an extended period of time (6 months +) in inclement conditions (hot, dry, etc…). With no external factors (ideal conditions), there is enough oils introduced during the fat liquoring process to keep the leather conditioned for at least a few years.

Adding a thin coat of conditioner will not hurt anything, and since you don’t usually know in what conditions the shoes have been stored, or for how long, it’s not a bad idea. Use conditioner before polish (usually a day apart to allow the conditioner to soak in). Also note that too much conditioner and/or too much polish are probably worse for your shoes than nothing at all.

Do not apply spray-on water proofing to calfskin shoes. All spray-on water proofing that I am aware of contains silicone. Once silicone is in leather is in difficult to get out. And, while silicone creates a good water barrier, it works both ways. The silicone will not allow the perspiration in the leather to pass through and evaporate, thus not allowing your shoes to “breath”. Oil and/or wax are the best water protectors you can add to leather.

Suede, of course, is another matter. Since you can’t really add oil or wax to suede, the only way to add some level of protection to the suede is to apply spray-on water proofing.

When it comes to lower quality shoes (sub $200) there is a good chance the leather quality is not as good, and is often corrected grain (in the fixing flaws sense) which may include a cheaper shiny finish that does not work well with the oils and solvent in shoe polish. You have seen this if you have looked at a $100 shiny leather shoe in shoe section of a department store.

Exotic skins like crocodile, alligator, lizard, and so on are not like calfskin and should be treated as such. There are reptile cleaners and conditioners for this purpose.

Shell cordovan is not calfskin either, but it is closer in composition to calfskin than exotic skins. Shell cordovan needs very little to no additional oils over the life of the shoe. Polish should also be used to a minimum to keep the natural luster of the shell cordovan.

I read somewhere (and I'm sorry I don't have the reference) that you should always give new shoes a light cleaning/conditioning because the shoes are likely to have sat on a shelf or been in storage for some time and dried out.

Way off topic of shoe care, but I have to put in a word for osteopaths. I am not a DO, so no axe to grind. Here in the US, a DO is just another type of medical degree. Far more medical schools award the MD than the DO, and all the famous schools are MD. However, particularly in the midwest, there are plenty of DO's turned out.

At least in the US, the DO's enter training programs just like MD's. They may train in either DO or MD programs. They then get medical licenses and enter practice. They read the same journals, go to the same medical conferences, and develop the same expertise. If you see an MD or a DO with the same problem you are likely pretty much the same diagnosis and treatment.

Maybe you are thinking of homeopathy? That nonsense is a step down from voodoo. But it has nothing to do with osteopathy.

Way off topic of shoe care, but I have to put in a word for osteopaths. I am not a DO, so no axe to grind. Here in the US, a DO is just another type of medical degree. Far more medical schools award the MD than the DO, and all the famous schools are MD. However, particularly in the midwest, there are plenty of DO's turned out.

At least in the US, the DO's enter training programs just like MD's. They may train in either DO or MD programs. They then get medical licenses and enter practice. They read the same journals, go to the same medical conferences, and develop the same expertise. If you see an MD or a DO with the same problem you are likely pretty much the same diagnosis and treatment.

Maybe you are thinking of homeopathy? That nonsense is a step down from voodoo. But it has nothing to do with osteopathy.